Driving through the remote coastal areas of Essex recently, I couldn’t help noticing the straight line legacy of many of the roads, an engineering principle inherited directly from the Romans when they ruled ancient Britain. The whole area is steeped in the turbulent history which shaped, often quite literally, our tiny island.
St Peter’s Church (or chapel) stands on what was once the gateway to a Roman fort, one of many coastal defences built to keep out the invading Saxons. These ruins are now protected; the whole site is a scheduled monument and as such is therefore the responsibility of The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Half way through the Seventh Century, an evangelistic Christian monk called Saint Cedd sailed down the coast from a tiny, “Holy” island called Lindisfarne, itself a pivotal religious settlement situated much further north, just off the East coast of England. He came to found a new community, resulting in the germ of the building you see here. That I was able to explore and photograph the site of these doors and windows today is a testament to one individual's commitment to a cause in which he believed so unswervingly.
I love the close up of the door knocker, probably made by a blacksmith eons ago. Very cool!
Posted by: Donna | April 22, 2009 at 02:33 AM